


I fell into the sea, stupid!

by Kiraly



Category: City of Hunger (Video Game), Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cyborgs, Huddling For Warmth, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Naked Cuddling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-26 10:19:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16679758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiraly/pseuds/Kiraly
Summary: After an incident that left him soaking wet and in need of cybermedical attention, Lalli would really like to go somewhere warmer and with less shouting. Emil might not be able to fix his broken arm - not without getting a shock, anyway - but he can still help.(City of Hunger setting, or vaguely scifi AU in which Lalli is a cyborg).





	I fell into the sea, stupid!

**Author's Note:**

> I blame this entirely on the folks over at Synchronised Screaming - this wasn't even a prompt, I just arrived in chat yesterday to find people discussing the [latest City of Hunger update](http://www.hummingfluff.com/?id=devlog&postin=31), specifically the last image. 
> 
> _"I'm not in pain, I'm cold,"_ says Lalli, hunched over with wires coming out of his arm and a coat draped over him. _"I fell into the sea, stupid!"_
> 
> "Wow," said Folie, "Sounds like Emil needs to get him out of his wet clothes and..."  
> Chat: "Yesss?"  
> Folie: "Warm. Him Up."  
> Chat: "YES."  
> Yuuago: "That sounds like the plot of a Kiraly fic."  
> Kiraly, arriving late with Starbucks: "YES. YES IT DOES."
> 
> Anyway, this is for you, SynSers. I hope you're pleased with yourselves. XD

The loading bay was cold and loud, angry shouts echoing against metal walls. Of course, it was often too loud for Lalli; on this planet, everyone flung their words out like they might not get a second chance. And it went without saying that an ice planet would be cold. Today though, it was colder than usual because Lalli was soaked with seawater. And louder, because Onni was shouting at one of the officials, demanding cybermedical treatment for Lalli’s broken arm.

“He could have  _ died  _ on that stupid mission! Look at him, he’s shaking, and the wires are  _ sticking out everywhere—”  _

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to lower your voice, you’re causing a scene—”

“A SCENE? There’s going to be a REAL scene if one of my cousin’s wires gets wet and ELECTROCUTES HIM, Is that what you WANT?”

“I told you, all our cybermedics are very busy, we’ll have to add him to a waiting list—”

“A WAITING LIST??”

Lalli hunched forward, doing his best to block out the noise. His arm didn’t really hurt—that was the advantage of metal limbs—but he was very cold and would like to go somewhere quieter. Hopefully the shouting would be over soon so they could leave.

It helped to focus on the other sounds, like footsteps passing on the other side of the bay. Or the other footsteps, starting slowly and then speeding up as they got closer. Then they stopped, abruptly enough that it broke Lalli’s concentration. His eyes opened just as a warm weight dropped onto his shoulders.

“Lalli!” Finally, a sound worth hearing. Even more welcome, Emil’s worried face, framed by the coat he’d just draped over Lalli. “Are you okay? Your arm looks really bad!”

“Mrrr.” Why was everyone so worried about his arm? “I’m not in pain, I’m cold! I fell into the sea, stupid.”

“Oh!” Emil relaxed, then frowned. “Well this is stupid then, why are they keeping you here? It’s freezing.”

Lalli shrugged. He was past the point of caring about that. 

Emil stood up. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He pulled Lalli to his feet, careful not to touch his bad arm, and steered him toward the door. 

“Hey!” The official had spotted them. “What are you doing? He’s waiting for cybermedical treatment, he can’t leave.” Behind him, Onni loomed like a furious cloud.

Emil kept moving. “Sorry! I’m taking him to get treatment for his...organic parts.” He flashed his ID badge quickly, then stuffed it back under his coat. “The cybermedics can notify him when they’re ready, right? Great! Bye!” He hurried Lalli down the corridor until they turned a corner and got out of sight. “Do you think they’re following us?”

It was getting hard to focus, but Lalli did his best to listen for footsteps. “No. Why?”

Emil laughed. “Because if that guy got a look at my badge, he’d know I don’t have any medical clearances, obviously.” He ushered Lalli through a door and closed it behind them.

“Oh.” Emil was standing still, so Lalli leaned against him and rested his head on Emil’s shoulder. It was nice and warm. “Then what are we doing?”

A sudden draft as Emil lifted his coat away. “Getting you out of those wet clothes and into bed.” Without the coat, Lalli could see that they were in Emil’s tiny room. Somehow they’d walked there without him noticing.

He couldn’t miss what happened next, though: Emil’s fingers on the fastenings of his tunic, peeling the wet fabric from his skin. “Emil. I can do it.” He probably could, anyway. Bending over to take his boots off might be a problem. The room didn’t want to stay still.

“I’m sure you can. But...let me?” Emil hung the tunic on the back of the door, then sank to his knees. It wasn’t fair, the way he looked up at Lalli with that golden hair falling across his forehead. The hopeful smile always made something in Lalli go soft and squishy. His organic parts were not good at making rational decisions, not where Emil was concerned.

“Fine,” Lalli said. He braced his good arm against the wall and lifted his feet one at a time so Emil could work the boots off. Water ran out of them, forming puddles on the floor, but Emil didn’t even seem to notice. He must have been really worried. “I’m...fine, you know. Just cold.”

“I know,” Emil said. But his hands shook a little as he helped Lalli into bed, tucking blankets around him like something fragile. Lalli watched as he spread the rest of the clothes around the room to dry. He fussed over the wrinkles, made a little  _ tsk  _ noise at the new tear in Lalli’s tunic, and came back to fluff  the already-fluffy pillows. Finally, Lalli couldn’t stand it anymore. He reached up with his good hand and caught Emil’s wrist.

“Hey.” A gentle caress, cold metal fingers over a thudding pulse. 

“Hey.” The worried line between Emil’s eyes smoothed out. “Feeling any warmer?”

Lalli was, but something was missing. “I’d be warmer if you were in here with me.”

He definitely would; Emil’s face glowed pink at the words. He could practically feel the heat radiating from it. “Ah. Are you sure? You need to rest, and I, uh…”

“I’m sure.” Lalli squeezed Emil’s wrist again, more insistent. “Please?”

Emil left his own clothes in a heap on the floor, carelessly abandoned. He took much greater care with his position in the bed, scrupulously avoiding the twisted wreck of Lalli’s arm. “It’s not like it’ll get worse,” Lalli grumbled, using his good hand to pull Emil closer. “And you won’t get shocked. Probably.” It was hard to be annoyed with him, though. Now that they were skin-to-skin, heat shared beneath the blankets, Lalli was finally warming up. And with his ear pressed to Emil’s chest, there was no sound but breath and heartbeat and a rumble of laughter.

“You say that now. But remember the last time one of your arms got messed up? My hair stood on end.”

Lalli snickered. “Everyone thought you licked a battery.”

“It wasn’t—okay, it was a  _ little  _ funny,” Emil said. He sighed, and the breath stirred Lalli’s hair. “How long do you think it’ll take them to fix it this time?”

“Mmm. Not sure.” Lalli closed his eyes. “Will you come with me? I hate those appointments.”

“Of course.” Emil traced circles on Lalli’s shoulder, gently running a finger over the seam where metal met skin. “But this time, if I get electrocuted, can we tell people it was because I was holding your hand?”

The words were distant as exhaustion took hold. But they did sound nice. “Okay,” Lalli said. “I guess they wouldn’t believe the battery story more than once.” 


End file.
